AFP photographer Diptendu Dutta works during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 in Siliguri, India, on April 10, 2020. (AFP)
AFP photographer Diptendu Dutta works during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 in Siliguri, India, on April 10, 2020. (AFP)
The Torch

World Press Freedom Day: Imprisoned journalists’ lives at risk due to COVID-19

The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here.

For journalists behind bars, the coronavirus pandemic has now become a matter of life and death. Imprisoned journalists have no control over their surroundings, cannot choose to isolate, and are often denied necessary medical care.

Recognizing the urgency of this situation, more than 175 partner organizations have joined CPJ’s #FreeThePress campaign calling for the immediate release of all jailed journalists. Thousands of concerned citizens have signed a petition to world leaders. Add your name now and help get more signatures by sharing on social media with the hashtag #FreeThePress.

Few people understand the dire situation these journalists face better than CPJ Advocacy Associate Yeganeh Rezaian, who was jailed while working as a journalist in Iran, and recounted her experience in an op-ed.

She emphasized how, at a time when journalists could be reporting and helping stop the spread of COVID-19, many now languish in prison. There were at least 250 imprisoned journalists globally at the time of CPJ’s 2019 census.

Journalism in the time of coronavirus

  • CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney called for tech companies to do more to curb misinformation, pointing out that their response to COVID-19 shows that they are able to do so
  • CPJ spoke with photojournalists in the U.S. and journalists in Nicaragua and Serbia about the challenges they face covering the pandemic
  • Journalists were detained and assaulted in India during the COVID-19 lockdown. Separately in the country, police in Tamil Nadu state arrested a journalist over his pandemic coverage
  • Iran arrested two journalists for allegedly sharing a cartoon mocking the government’s coronavirus response
  • Beijing police arrested two volunteers who contribute to a website sharing news reports and social media posts censored by the government, and a third volunteer has gone missing
  • Sierra Leone security forces attacked and charged a journalist covering the virus

Spotlight

More than a dozen journalists shared video messages voicing their support for the #FreeThePress campaign, including Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam, who was imprisoned in 2018.
More than a dozen journalists shared video messages voicing their support for the #FreeThePress campaign, including Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam, who was imprisoned in 2018.

As part of CPJ’s #FreeThePress campaign, formerly imprisoned journalists from around the world have been sharing messages of support and solidarity with those still behind bars. Hear their powerful words here.

World Press Freedom Day Events

CPJ is joining events throughout next week in honor of World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Next Tuesday, May 5, CPJ Emergencies Director Maria Salazar-Ferro and Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch will join an interactive panel on the National Geographic documentary film “The Nightcrawlers,” and will discuss press freedom and journalist safety in the context of COVID-19. Learn more, watch the film for free, and register here.

For events with a regional focus, on Wednesday, May 6, Radsch will also join a lunchtime briefing on World Press Freedom Day and press freedom in Australia hosted by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. RSVP at Australia at Home.

Also on May 6, CPJ sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo will speak at a webinar hosted by CIVICUS, Wits Journalism, and Fojo media on media restrictions around COVID-19 in Africa. RSVP here

Later that day, Radsch will join a discussion hosted by UNESCO titled “Safety of journalists amid COVID-19: A multifaceted challenge” (RSVP here), and CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney will join a virtual conversation with journalist Anna Therese Day on the global state of press freedom, hosted by the Truman National Security Project’s New York Chapter (RSVP here).

What we are reading

Beyond the pandemic

  • Sri Lankan journalists turn to self-censorship under Rajapaksas as hope for justice fades
  • Journalists in India’s Uttar Pradesh told CPJ that the threat of attack or prosecution looms large
  • CPJ and partners call for release of Beninese journalist Ignace Sossou on appeal

Do you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled device? Enable CPJ's flash briefing skill to stay up to date with the latest press freedom news from around the world.

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